Rail planer



Oct-27, 1925- 43 L. A. SWANSON RAIL PLANER Filed June 8,, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 21, 1 925. V 1,558,943

' L. A. SWANSON RAIL PLANER Filed June 8, 1925 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 27, 1925.

. UNITED STATES LAMBERT A. sW'ANsoN. or SUPERIOR, WISCONSIN.

' RAIL PLANER.

Application filed June 8, 1925. Serial No. 35,672.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, LAMBERT A. SWAN- soN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of Superior, in the county of Douglas and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail Planers, of which the following is a specification.

In recent years is has been quite common at coal docks,ore docks and similar places on the Great Lakes and in other parts of the country to provide automatic "rail clamps attached to travelling cranes or bridges for the purpose of gripping the ball of the rail on which they move. These clamps are for the purpose of protection from accidental movement in case of sudden winds or tornadoes and necessitate maintaining a standard width on the rail ball.

After use for a considerable time the rail is apt to become somewhat deformed, and the ball thereof is uneven in width. The present invention is designed to provide a rail planer which may be attached to a trav- 5 elling bridge of anysuitable type and will plane the sides of the ball of the rail in order to bring the same back to standard width after it has become beaded or spread by use.

An object of the invent1on 1s to provide such a planer which will be simple in construction and efficient in operation, as well as relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

' .The supporting rail is designed to carry tool holders in wihch are clamped tools which will engage the opposite sides of the ball of the rail and be held firmly in contact therewith by spring pressure. 'A movement of the bridge and tool holders along the rail will automatically plane off any pro]ec t1on or irregular portions and reduce the rall to its standard width. V

Various detail objects of the invent on will be apparent from the following description and appended claims.

'In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an end elevation of the planer in operative position relative to a rail which is shown in section.

Figure 2 is a side elevation.

Figure 3 is a view on an enlarged scaleof the lower end of one of the tool holders with the parts partially disassembled.

A suitable bridge member A is supported by wheels 1B. only one of which 1s shown,

which are adapted to travel along the rail C to be planed. This travelling support may be of any suitable character and driven by any suitable means. Attached to the bridge member A by bolts or other fastenings 1 are plates 2 through which passes a shaft 3 positioned in said plates in any suitable manner. Near one end of this shaft supportsdepending tool holder bars 4 which are suitably spaced apart on the shaft by a sleeve 5. Near the lower end there is threaded into one of the bars 4 a screw threaded bolt 6 provided with an adjusting nut 7. The head of this bolt bearsagainst the other bar 4 and thus suitably spaces the two bars.

Also supported by the bridge A and attached thereto by fastening means 8 are two plates 9 through which passes a shaft 10 which lies at one side of the bars 4 and limits their movement in one direction so as to holdthese'bars in vertical position when the bridge member is travelling.

Adjacent the lower end of each bar 4, it is provided with a groove in which fits the planing tool 11 having a cutting. edge 12.

This tool projectsbeyond the face of the bar 4 and is clamped in position by means of a plate 13 through which pass screws or bolts 13 provided with nuts 14 by which the plate may be drawn firmly against the tool 11 and the latter thereby clamped immovable in operative position. The grooves in which these cutting members are located are in the face of the rail on the side to ward which the machine moves when in operation. On the inner face of each bar 4 is fastened by screw 15 a thin plate 16 of hardened metal which contacts with the rail ball and prevents too deep a cut.

Passing transy ersely through the bars 4 is a rod 17 provided at each end with nuts 18. Adjoining each nut is a. Washer 19 and between each washer and the outer face of the bar 4 is positioned a very:strong coil spring 20. the tension of which can be adjusted by varying the position of the nuts 18. In this manner the cutting tools are caused to engage the rail with the desired force. A roller 21 provided with a hardened bearing 22 is mounted on the rod 17 between the bars 4 and said roller runs upon the top of the rail. This prevents any accidental drop of the tool holders to a position lower than is desired.

It will be noted that the relative position of the bars 4 is determined by the members. 6 and that the springs 20 will lpressthe bars toward each'other until the movementis limited by this member. The lQELlftSQiLlQfiO positioned that at the same time the hardened plates 15 will engage the sides oiithe ball. of the rail. Since the roller 21 limits the downward IHOVGITIQIIbyOf thG icutting members it is evident that the cutting members ar e positionedexaetly and by movement along the rail will 'plane the same to the desired {standardwidth.

The lengthot the bars 4 and in fact the dimensions of the ,Viut'iOllS parts will depend upon the type ot-lbridgeto whielrtheplaning member is attached and also uponthe character of the;rails,upon which the operation is to becondueted. nln general, it may be noted that the invention does not reside in the'speci'fiedetailsor in the dimensionsot' the-parts as these may be :modified widely without,departing in any degree from the spirit-0t the invention, which is to be regarded as limit-ed. onlyby the scope of the appended claims.

I gelaim P l. A rail planereomprising a travelling support, toolrholders {carried thereby, tools carried 3 by :said Eli-elders anti] engaging oppositesides oil th-e'balhof the rail and spring means tor -,pressing said holders and tools toward the rail.

2. A rail-planer:eomprisinga travelling support, tool holders carried thereby, tools carried by; said holders and engaging opposite s-ides 'ol the ball oi the mail, spring means vfor pressing said holders and tools toward :the rail andnieans :or limitingithe extent of said movement.

3. [4i rail'planer comprising atravelling support, tool holders carried the relay, means for spacing apart-said tool holders, tools carried by saidholders an d engaging oppositesideslol the ball otthe rail and adjustable, spring means l er pressin'gthe holders Zll'ldxtOOlS toward -,the rail.

4. A rail iplaner [comprising a travelling support depending barsic-arriedby said support tools elampedwin the lowerendsot' said bars: and adapted-to engage opposite sides of the ball of the rail, hardened members on the inner sides. of the bars and adaptedto engage the rail when planeduto a standard width, and-:means -for pressing saidtools toward-the rail.

5. A rail planer comprising a travelling support,,depending bars carried by said support, tools clamped in thelower ends of said barsand adapted to engage opposite sides of the ball of the raihhardened members on the inner sides of the bars and adapted to eni g a-ge -the rail when planed to a standard width, and adjustable spring means for apressingsaidtools toward the rail.

6. A rail planer comprising a travelling support, depending bars carried bysaid supporttools clampedlin the lower ends. of'said bars and adapted to engage opposite sides ot the ball of the rail, hardened members on the inner sides of the bars, and fadapted'to engage thezraibwhen planed to astandard width', a'dji-istableispring means forlpressing ait tools toward the rail, and means limiting the downward movement of the bars;

7. Amail planercomprising atrawelling support, depending flea-rs carried-thereby, tools .earrie'dby -theilower ends of theabars and adapted to-engageiopposite sides otthe ball-of the; rail, a transverse rod passing through-the bars, ,andsmeans ;on t saidnod tendingto move the barstoward the-rail. I

8. A rail planer=comprisingea travelling support-,1 depending bars carried thereby, tools carried by the lower ends ofthe bars andadapted to engage .Qppositesidesiot the ball of the rail, a transverse rod passing through the bars, .means on said; rod tending tomove thexbars toward the frail, andmeans carried by :the rod and limitin downward .moven'ientof the 1322118,.

'5). "A rail' planner-ioompnising support, shaft carried thereby wtool supports on said: shaft, a seeond shafts carried by said support and limiting the movement (it the itoo'l supportswin one c'lireetion, means pressing said :tool support-s toward each otl;rer,= and means limiting the ie-xten-t' of said movement.

10. A rail. planer eoluprisinga travel-ling support-,1" a shaft carried :thereby, tool supports suspended from. said shaft, means ttorzlimiting the swinging:mowement of the tool. supports in one direction, aneans pressing the tool supports mtOWEtlClS each other, aneans limiting the extent of sueh movement and: :means -;limiting-q the downward --m0vement of the supports.

In =testimony -whereof, I ah-ave hereunto subscribed (my iname.

LAMBERT 1A. aS-VVANSON.

atravelling 

